Head mounted displays (HMDs) may be used to provide users or viewers with additional information by means of a display mounted in front of the eyes of the viewer. HMDs may often be used to provide users with an immersive experience, e.g., in three-dimensional (3D) gaming, augmented reality applications, and the like, by filling the field of view of the viewer. To achieve immersion at relatively low costs, a display panel may be placed a short distance in front of each eye.
Wide angle optics (lenses) may be used to focus on the display and enable a wide field of view. Cheaper, lighter and lower quality lenses may introduce spatial and chromatic distortions of the image such as radial distortions and chromatic aberrations. The radial distortions created by these lenses typically include pin-cushion distortions. As a result, the images to be displayed may be pre-warped to cancel the distortions. Pre-warping may typically be performed in a post-processing step using a pixel shader. However, the discrete resampling utilized by pixel shaders may lead to a loss in image quality. Further, some graphics architectures may not support the use of pixel shaders.